Thursday, January 4, 2007
Writer's Block
I have written whole novels. Why, oh why, can I not think of anything more cogent to say in a congratulatory scrapbook we're making for my boss's wedding than, "Congratulations!"?
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
The Ghost Map (Book #2)
The Ghost Map (Steven Johnson, 2006) is an account of an 1854 cholera outbreak in a London neighborhood and how two men--a local curate and a brilliant doctor--rigorously proved that the source of the disease was contaminated water from a particular well and not foul miasmas, which were still the scientific community's favored explanation for cholera and similar diseases. It's a fascinating, readable book, and a good reminder for me as a historical fiction writer of just how differently my characters would've viewed the world. Viruses and bacteria are simply part of my reality--just like plate tectonics, evolution, and a whole host of other things my turn-of-the-19th-century characters would've had no concept of. I know all that, but every once in awhile it's nice to be reminded.
I recommend this book highly, with one caveat--you might want to skip the last chapter where he enumerates the threats facing modern cities. I could've done without the description of exactly what a one-megaton nuke detonated at the epicenter of the cholera outbreak would do to modern London, especially since there's not a damn thing I can do personally to reduce the odds of such a weapon falling into the wrong hands. I think I'm going to go read something nice and escapist now, maybe with some fluffy bunnies and kittens, just to see if I can stave off nuclear nightmares...
I recommend this book highly, with one caveat--you might want to skip the last chapter where he enumerates the threats facing modern cities. I could've done without the description of exactly what a one-megaton nuke detonated at the epicenter of the cholera outbreak would do to modern London, especially since there's not a damn thing I can do personally to reduce the odds of such a weapon falling into the wrong hands. I think I'm going to go read something nice and escapist now, maybe with some fluffy bunnies and kittens, just to see if I can stave off nuclear nightmares...
On Buying Friends' Books
A recent discussion on one of my writing-related email lists centered on when you are and aren't obligated to buy books written by your friends. The general consensus was that beyond your inner ring--critique partners, best friends, etc.--there is no such obligation.
That probably sounds weird to a non-writer. It certainly would have to me five or six years ago. I mean, if someone you know writes an actual published BOOK, how could you not buy it?
Thing is, once you start hanging out in writing circles, you start meeting authors. If you join organizations like RWA or HNS and go to writers' conferences, before you know it you know TONS of them. In 2001, I would've been in awe of anyone with a publishing contract. Now--well, it was pretty cool meeting Bernard Cornwell and Jennifer Crusie at the Surrey conference in October, and I could probably eke out a fangirlish "SQUEE!" for Naomi Novik, but authors no longer amaze me by their very existence.
By now I probably know at least 50 authors, maybe more. Some of those relationships are purely online (which doesn't make them any less real), and I don't know how many of them remember me as well as I remember them. (And, really, why should someone like Cornwell or Crusie remember talking to me the way I remember everything they said to me? To them, I'm one of the horde of aspiring writers, while to me they're What I Want To Be When I Grow Up.)
Anyway, if I bought every single book by every single author I know, I'd be broke, my bookshelves would overflow, and I'd have no space in my budget or on my shelves for interesting books by strangers. And the unfortunate fact is that just because I like a person doesn't mean I'll enjoy his or her book. Sometimes that's a bit awkward. Writers, by and large, are nice people, so it's always a bit painful to discover that X has no historical voice, Y's new book is boring, and that I don't like certain subgenres even when someone as wonderful as Z writes them. I'd much rather love all my friends' books, but that's not going to happen.
Fortunately, most authors I've met seem to realize that no book is for every reader, and I've never felt pressured to buy a book just because the author is one of my friends from my RWA chapter. I'll have to keep that in mind for when (I refuse to say "if") I'm published.
That probably sounds weird to a non-writer. It certainly would have to me five or six years ago. I mean, if someone you know writes an actual published BOOK, how could you not buy it?
Thing is, once you start hanging out in writing circles, you start meeting authors. If you join organizations like RWA or HNS and go to writers' conferences, before you know it you know TONS of them. In 2001, I would've been in awe of anyone with a publishing contract. Now--well, it was pretty cool meeting Bernard Cornwell and Jennifer Crusie at the Surrey conference in October, and I could probably eke out a fangirlish "SQUEE!" for Naomi Novik, but authors no longer amaze me by their very existence.
By now I probably know at least 50 authors, maybe more. Some of those relationships are purely online (which doesn't make them any less real), and I don't know how many of them remember me as well as I remember them. (And, really, why should someone like Cornwell or Crusie remember talking to me the way I remember everything they said to me? To them, I'm one of the horde of aspiring writers, while to me they're What I Want To Be When I Grow Up.)
Anyway, if I bought every single book by every single author I know, I'd be broke, my bookshelves would overflow, and I'd have no space in my budget or on my shelves for interesting books by strangers. And the unfortunate fact is that just because I like a person doesn't mean I'll enjoy his or her book. Sometimes that's a bit awkward. Writers, by and large, are nice people, so it's always a bit painful to discover that X has no historical voice, Y's new book is boring, and that I don't like certain subgenres even when someone as wonderful as Z writes them. I'd much rather love all my friends' books, but that's not going to happen.
Fortunately, most authors I've met seem to realize that no book is for every reader, and I've never felt pressured to buy a book just because the author is one of my friends from my RWA chapter. I'll have to keep that in mind for when (I refuse to say "if") I'm published.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
A Kind of Honor (Book #1)
Every few months, I make the rounds of favorite used bookstores and my local Value Village just to see what out-of-print treasures catch my eye. My favorites are old Regency romances--often witty drawing room comedies, sometimes history-rich stories of the Napoleonic War battlefields and homefront, and, unfortunately, a rare breed in today's publishing market.
For my first read of 2007, I took up a recent thrift store Regency find, A Kind of Honor (Joan Wolf, 1980), which turned out to be a very unusual romance for any year. It's a bit dark, and it's full of specific historical detail. I'm not normally fond of spy plots, but this one I could get behind because it felt so believable--the villain wanted to pass Wellington's plans for the 1813 campaign to Napoleon, and since those plans involved something of a trick play (Wellington apparently being in a mood to be the Boise State of generals that year), discovery really would've been disastrous for the British war effort.
But what really made this book different is that the heroine is the villain's wife. IOW, it's an adultery story, which is an automatic no for many readers. I'm certainly not a fan of infidelity, but women trapped in loveless marriages with men who turn out to be traitors get a bit of a pass from me, at least in books! And it works for this story, IMHO, because it makes it angsty, dark, and unpredictable.
For my first read of 2007, I took up a recent thrift store Regency find, A Kind of Honor (Joan Wolf, 1980), which turned out to be a very unusual romance for any year. It's a bit dark, and it's full of specific historical detail. I'm not normally fond of spy plots, but this one I could get behind because it felt so believable--the villain wanted to pass Wellington's plans for the 1813 campaign to Napoleon, and since those plans involved something of a trick play (Wellington apparently being in a mood to be the Boise State of generals that year), discovery really would've been disastrous for the British war effort.
But what really made this book different is that the heroine is the villain's wife. IOW, it's an adultery story, which is an automatic no for many readers. I'm certainly not a fan of infidelity, but women trapped in loveless marriages with men who turn out to be traitors get a bit of a pass from me, at least in books! And it works for this story, IMHO, because it makes it angsty, dark, and unpredictable.
Crusie-Mayer Writing Workshop
Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer are doing an online writing workshop this year. It's a topic per week, designed to be useful for fiction writing in general rather than focused on a particular genre. I heard them speak at the Surrey writers' conference a few months ago and was impressed, and going by the first lesson it looks like it'll be useful.
Monday, January 1, 2007
2006 - My year in reading
In 2006 I read 112 books, 34 of which were published in '06. That's new-to-me books, read cover to cover. I don't count re-reads or books I don't finish. The genre breakdown was as follows:
14 historical fiction
14 historical romance
11 contemporary romance
3 paranormal romance
5 YA (includes fantasy, romance, etc. if written for a YA audience)
7 fantasy
4 mystery
1 other fiction
24 nonfiction - history
29 nonfiction - other
It was a good year for me, largely because a few months in I stopped worrying about market research (reading recently published historical romances to get a feel for where my work might fit in) and started reading whatever happened to appeal to me, regardless of whether it was popular, recently published, or something I could picture myself writing someday. Not that understanding the market isn't important, but reading books you don't particularly enjoy is a real muse-killer, and just makes you angry that they're published and you aren't.
Anyway, just for fun, two top ten lists--my favorite books published in 2006, and earlier. I'm only doing one book per author. Otherwise, Naomi Novik would dominate the first list and Bernard Cornwell and Jennifer Crusie the second. They're in no particular order, except as noted:
My favorite 2006 books
1. HIS MAJESTY'S DRAGON, by Naomi Novik. Hands down my favorite read of the year. It's like Aubrey/Maturin with dragons, and SO well done.
2. MAIDENSONG, by Diana Groe. A Viking romance by a debut author, well-researched and not at all cheesey.
3. KUSHIEL'S SCION, by Jacqueline Carey. First in a new trilogy in an established alternate-Europe setting. 700 pages, and I read it in a day while recuperating from strep this summer.
4. MAJOR CRUSH, by Jennifer Echols. Debut YA romance set in a small-town Alabama marching band--in other words, the world of my adolescence.
5. FARTHING, by Jo Walton. A chilling mystery set in an alternate 1940's where England made peace with Nazi Germany early in WWII.
6. THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA, by Michael Pollan. All about how our food makes it to our tables, and it made me vow to buy more local and organic from now on.
7. THE AUDACITY OF HOPE, by Barack Obama. Normally I try to keep my politics out of this blog, but suffice it to say I've caught Obama-mania, and I think he's the real deal.
8. EYES OF CROW, by Jeri Smith-Ready. A romantic fantasy with (IMHO) solid world-building.
9. THE ROGUE'S RETURN, by Jo Beverley. Solid Regency historical romance, largely set in Canada.
10. IN MILADY'S CHAMBER, by Sheri Cobb South. Murder mystery set in Regency London, with hints of romance that I hope get a chance to be developed in sequels.
Favorite pre-2006 books read in 2006
1. DEDICATION, by Janet Mullany (2005). One of the last of Signet's traditional Regencies, but not a typical trad--hero and heroine were older, and the book was very sexy and different. Happily, Mullany is under contract again and IIRC will have a historical novel out from HarperCollins in '07 or '08.
2. SHARPE'S TRIUMPH, by Bernard Cornwell (1998). I had a hard time choosing between TRIUMPH, TRAFALGAR, and GOLD, but this one won out because it's sort of the "origin story"--we see Sharpe save the future Duke of Wellington's life and win his officer's commission.
3. WE WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT TOMORROW WE WILL BE KILLED WITH OUR FAMILIES, by Philip Gourevitch (1998). A history of the Rwandan genocide, and an extremely harrowing book to read, but I'm glad I did.
4. PERSIAN FIRE, by Tom Holland (2005). A narrative history of the Greco-Persian wars, which for some reason have always fascinated me. One of these days I want to write about Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis, etc. myself.
5. THE SHATTERED ROSE, by Jo Beverley (1996). A rather dark medieval romance, and possibly my all-time favorite Beverley.
6. THE TRUTH-TELLER'S TALE, by Sharon Shinn (2005). YA romantic fantasy, very well done.
7. PERSEPOLIS, by Marjane Satrapi (2003). Memoir of the author's childhood in revolutionary Iran, in graphic novel format.
8. THE OLD BUZZARD HAD IT COMING, by Donis Casey (2005). Mystery set in rural Oklahoma in the early 20th century. Wonderful voice.
9. FAST WOMEN, by Jennifer Crusie (2001). Romance with a lot of mystery and comedy, with Crusie's usual mastery of character and dialogue.
10. A SHORT HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING, by Bill Bryson (2003). History of science made accessible.
14 historical fiction
14 historical romance
11 contemporary romance
3 paranormal romance
5 YA (includes fantasy, romance, etc. if written for a YA audience)
7 fantasy
4 mystery
1 other fiction
24 nonfiction - history
29 nonfiction - other
It was a good year for me, largely because a few months in I stopped worrying about market research (reading recently published historical romances to get a feel for where my work might fit in) and started reading whatever happened to appeal to me, regardless of whether it was popular, recently published, or something I could picture myself writing someday. Not that understanding the market isn't important, but reading books you don't particularly enjoy is a real muse-killer, and just makes you angry that they're published and you aren't.
Anyway, just for fun, two top ten lists--my favorite books published in 2006, and earlier. I'm only doing one book per author. Otherwise, Naomi Novik would dominate the first list and Bernard Cornwell and Jennifer Crusie the second. They're in no particular order, except as noted:
My favorite 2006 books
1. HIS MAJESTY'S DRAGON, by Naomi Novik. Hands down my favorite read of the year. It's like Aubrey/Maturin with dragons, and SO well done.
2. MAIDENSONG, by Diana Groe. A Viking romance by a debut author, well-researched and not at all cheesey.
3. KUSHIEL'S SCION, by Jacqueline Carey. First in a new trilogy in an established alternate-Europe setting. 700 pages, and I read it in a day while recuperating from strep this summer.
4. MAJOR CRUSH, by Jennifer Echols. Debut YA romance set in a small-town Alabama marching band--in other words, the world of my adolescence.
5. FARTHING, by Jo Walton. A chilling mystery set in an alternate 1940's where England made peace with Nazi Germany early in WWII.
6. THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA, by Michael Pollan. All about how our food makes it to our tables, and it made me vow to buy more local and organic from now on.
7. THE AUDACITY OF HOPE, by Barack Obama. Normally I try to keep my politics out of this blog, but suffice it to say I've caught Obama-mania, and I think he's the real deal.
8. EYES OF CROW, by Jeri Smith-Ready. A romantic fantasy with (IMHO) solid world-building.
9. THE ROGUE'S RETURN, by Jo Beverley. Solid Regency historical romance, largely set in Canada.
10. IN MILADY'S CHAMBER, by Sheri Cobb South. Murder mystery set in Regency London, with hints of romance that I hope get a chance to be developed in sequels.
Favorite pre-2006 books read in 2006
1. DEDICATION, by Janet Mullany (2005). One of the last of Signet's traditional Regencies, but not a typical trad--hero and heroine were older, and the book was very sexy and different. Happily, Mullany is under contract again and IIRC will have a historical novel out from HarperCollins in '07 or '08.
2. SHARPE'S TRIUMPH, by Bernard Cornwell (1998). I had a hard time choosing between TRIUMPH, TRAFALGAR, and GOLD, but this one won out because it's sort of the "origin story"--we see Sharpe save the future Duke of Wellington's life and win his officer's commission.
3. WE WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT TOMORROW WE WILL BE KILLED WITH OUR FAMILIES, by Philip Gourevitch (1998). A history of the Rwandan genocide, and an extremely harrowing book to read, but I'm glad I did.
4. PERSIAN FIRE, by Tom Holland (2005). A narrative history of the Greco-Persian wars, which for some reason have always fascinated me. One of these days I want to write about Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis, etc. myself.
5. THE SHATTERED ROSE, by Jo Beverley (1996). A rather dark medieval romance, and possibly my all-time favorite Beverley.
6. THE TRUTH-TELLER'S TALE, by Sharon Shinn (2005). YA romantic fantasy, very well done.
7. PERSEPOLIS, by Marjane Satrapi (2003). Memoir of the author's childhood in revolutionary Iran, in graphic novel format.
8. THE OLD BUZZARD HAD IT COMING, by Donis Casey (2005). Mystery set in rural Oklahoma in the early 20th century. Wonderful voice.
9. FAST WOMEN, by Jennifer Crusie (2001). Romance with a lot of mystery and comedy, with Crusie's usual mastery of character and dialogue.
10. A SHORT HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING, by Bill Bryson (2003). History of science made accessible.
Looking Back, Looking Forward
New Year's Day makes me doubly reflective, because it's also my birthday. (I'm 36. I feel oldish, or at least not-so-young. And I'm not sure where the past ten years went, except by too quickly.)
2006 didn't turn out as well as I hoped. I'm still not published. As for the rest of my life...well, I still need to lose weight, we still need a a better house, etc. My accomplishments this year mostly had to do with balance, compromise, and accommodation. Thanks to my agent's patient tutelage, I'm better at editing and rewriting than I was before. I learned to be a reasonably productive writer despite working 40 hours/week and having a husband and a toddler. I made less-than-ideal career and housing situations livable. I realized I needed to make changes in what I write to be happy with my work and (I hope!) improve my chances at publication, and I took the first steps toward making those changes a reality. And that's all important and worthwhile--I'm just ready to have a publishing contract, a house of my own, and a less stressful balance of writing, life, and day job.
So I'm making goals for 2007, hoping they'll get me a little closer to those dreams:
1. Finish my WIP, The Inconvenient Bride, by the end of April.
2. Take a few months to research, then start my alternate history no later than September, with the goal of having at least 150 pages written by 12/31/07.
3. Lose weight and exercise. If I want another 50 years to write and enjoy life, I've got to take better care of myself.
4. Make the housing and career situations better. Somehow. Details of this and #3 are beyond the scope of this blog.
2006 didn't turn out as well as I hoped. I'm still not published. As for the rest of my life...well, I still need to lose weight, we still need a a better house, etc. My accomplishments this year mostly had to do with balance, compromise, and accommodation. Thanks to my agent's patient tutelage, I'm better at editing and rewriting than I was before. I learned to be a reasonably productive writer despite working 40 hours/week and having a husband and a toddler. I made less-than-ideal career and housing situations livable. I realized I needed to make changes in what I write to be happy with my work and (I hope!) improve my chances at publication, and I took the first steps toward making those changes a reality. And that's all important and worthwhile--I'm just ready to have a publishing contract, a house of my own, and a less stressful balance of writing, life, and day job.
So I'm making goals for 2007, hoping they'll get me a little closer to those dreams:
1. Finish my WIP, The Inconvenient Bride, by the end of April.
2. Take a few months to research, then start my alternate history no later than September, with the goal of having at least 150 pages written by 12/31/07.
3. Lose weight and exercise. If I want another 50 years to write and enjoy life, I've got to take better care of myself.
4. Make the housing and career situations better. Somehow. Details of this and #3 are beyond the scope of this blog.
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